Written in about AD800, Navigato Sancti Brendani Abbatis (The Voyage of
Saint Brendan) is one of the most famous and enduring stories of
western Christendom. While the question whether Saint Brendan reached
America remains a subject of controversy, the tale itself is of great
interest - a strongly integrated text which derives from several
centuries of Irish literary tradition. The text is illustrated by the
relevant woodcuts from a German version of the tale which was printed in
Augsburg in 1476.
John J. O'Meara has here translated one of the most famous and enduring
stories of western Christendom, the Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis,
written in Ireland perhaps as early as the year 800. While the routes of
Saint Brendan's journeys remain a subject of controversy, the tale
itself is of great interest - a strongly integrated text which derives
from several centuries of Irish literary tradition.
The Voyage of Saint Brendan presents Professor O'Meara's translation
of the only scientific edition of the original Latin text, with his
introduction, and is illustrated by the relevant woodcuts from a German
version of the tale, Sankt Brandans Seefahrt, printed in Augsburg in
1476. When this version was published By the Dolmen Press in 1975 it was
acclaimed by critics on both sides of the Atlantic.
